"Ahelno" by MK Stephenson

On The Library Shelf

Hello all! Welcome to another Library Shelf post. It has been a long time since the last one, but I think we are returning with a bang.

Quick reminder that “Reasons Found In Promises” is now available to be purchased directly from me in both paperback and ebook formats. This means IT IS MUCH CHEAPER FOR YOU.

Purchase the paperback here

Purchase the ebook here

*note after checking out through Payhip, you will be send an email from BookFunnel with your own personal download link. You will then be able to read the book in pretty much any ebook reading app you want, not just Kindle.

Alright, lets get into things!

“Ahelno” by MK Stephenson

Claimed by an alien prince. Bound by a mistake neither can undo. Can love bloom, even in their darkest hour?

Andie
One moment, I was a college student with Broadway dreams. The next, I was kidnapped from Earth, sold to alien traffickers, and stranded on a planet light-years from home.

When a giant, winged alien found me in the wreckage of my captor’s ship, I screamed and ran. Now the entire Ptexari kingdom believes I initiated a mating ritual with Crown Prince Dakleth—a four-armed warrior who chased me down and claimed me.

Dakleth may regret what happened between us, but remorse doesn’t erase trauma. I may never go home again. I may never see another human being. But I will never accept this alien as my mate.

Dakleth
The moment I saw the tiny human emerge from the crashed vessel, I knew she was mine. I believed she had chosen me, according to the traditions of my people, and instinct overtook reason.

By the time I understood the truth, the damage was already done. I will accept any punishment demanded of me, because no sentence could equal the harm I caused my mate.

Andie may never forgive me. She may hate me until my dying breath. Still, I will spend the rest of my life protecting her, earning her trust, and proving that I would sooner destroy myself than ever hurt her again.

Because she is my mate… even if I no longer deserve to be hers.

Ahelno is a steamy, emotionally intense dual-POV sci-fi romance featuring cultural collision and a slow-burn path toward healing and redemption. It is the author’s debut novel and first in a new series. Intended for mature audiences only.

No cliffhanger. HEA.

Tropes:

• M/F slow burn romance

• Enemies to lovers

• Mating/bonding

• Alpha MMC (nonhuman)

• Child-free

Content warnings:

• Non-consensual sexual encounter between main characters

• Trauma recovery

• Suicidal ideation and attempt

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon

***THE EBOOK PRICE will be REDUCED from $3.99 to $0.99 from June 10-16. Don’t miss out!!!

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed the read! And would definitely reccomend it to anyone who wants a monster romance that has more depth to it. I.e. Anyone who enjoys anything I write.

Yes, the trigger warnings are a bit duanting, but I can with full confidance say that the initial incident is very much revealed to the reader as being a misunderstanding as it is happening. As such, even though the imagery is viciral, it does not read as shock value, but a more thought out, deliberate choice that jump starts the book’s themes about the cultural differences between humans and the aliens.

It also allows the following chapters to very carefully dissect the incident on both sides. Treating it with a lot of empathy and nuance. Because of that, after the initial incident, the pacing slows drastically. Opting for a much slower parrallel story line between the two leads as they both process and cope with what happened. Especially Andie, who goes through a very rough recovery arc.

The story also focuses a lot on the biological and cultural differences between the aliens of this planet and humans. My personal favorite is a scene in the later portion, which without spoiling, includes sunburns. Both charming and a great point of character development.

The smut is fun, intense, and features my favorite size kink. No notes. If you like muscle and scales, go to Dakleth if you like horns and fluff go to Ronan.

Speaking of…

In Comparisons to “Reasons Found In Promises”

There are some very obvious points of parrallel. The suicide attempt and SA scene, but both differ in key areas.

Lets adress the SA first. Both stories feature it as a plot point but the way it is used is different. For RFiP it is a small piece from the bigger tapestry of the conspiracy behind what is going on at Hallowcrest and Cherryville. It is also attempted assault, not a full scene of it. Although we do see Zoey’s lingering feelings about it, it isn’t as much of a focus. It also is obviously not between the main pair, which changes the feeling of it a lot.

“Ahelno” has the SA front and center, and goes much deeper down the recovery and emotional impact of it. Conversely, its suicide attemp is a smaller story blip than the suicidal ideation Zoey suffers from. Basically the two are directly switched I think.

The first arc of the “Ahelno” both share the same feel of being there for maticulous, deliberate, and extremely nuanced character development that becomes the backbone for the relationship going forward.

Andie and Zoey are quite different people, but I think they would find common ground around their experiances with suicidal thoughts as well the fish-out-of-water experiance assimilating in their respective new worlds. Though the ideation is far more deep seated for Zoey, being something she practically lived with for as long as she remembers. Her responce to Andie’s recollection would be a teasing:

Ronan and Dakleth I think would function on mutual respect and understanding on what their goals are. Kind of similar to scene where Ronan and Ashfords relationship clicks into place because of the later’s commitment to Noah. They both have their bonded mates, and they wouldn’t expect the other to care much further than keeping their own happy. So they would likely act as arm chairs for Andie and Zoey while the other two chat away about cultural differences between Dakleth’s people and The Village.

Closing Thoughts

Thank you for being here for another Library Shelf Post! I am unsure as to what is happening next week… maybe some lore reveals about my current WIP? You will have to find out with me.

Have a great rest of your week!